The Eligible
by chasingafterstarlight
Summary: She is supposed to think he's conceited and a jerk – which he is, he has to be, because he's on this dumb reality show, but the way he's talking to her, the way he's looking at her, makes her wonder, and – no. She won't fall into his trap. / Jade West ends up on a show similar to the Bachelor and tries not to fall for the insanely alluring star of the show. Eventual Jade/Beck.
1. Chapter 1

_The Eligible_

Eventual Jade/Beck

_Week 1_

Jade cannot believe it when she hears the words. This is beyond being stunned, she thinks; in fact, it causes pure rage to course through her veins, causes her adrenaline to pump, causes her eyes to narrow into slits as she glares over at her best friend. "You _what_?"

"I just told you, silly," Cat says with a giggle. "I signed you up for that new reality show _The Eligibles. _I mean, like you always say, you're single and ready to mingle, and I think it's time you found someone! You know, I've got Robbie, and you've got… no one, really." She frowns, and Jade is certain that her deed had been with the best intentions, but that doesn't make it any less horrifying.

"Cat," Jade replies from between gritted teeth. "The whole point of '_single and ready to mingle_' is that I don't _want_ anybody. I'm just fine on my own."

"Aw, come on, Jade," Cat pleads, widening her brown eyes in an attempt at sympathy. "I know you'll have fun. There's this big hotel that they've reserved _just_ for the show, and you'll get to be on TV, the center of attention, and I _know_ how much you love that. Also the guy they picked for this season is really good-looking, and I hear he's super nice. I'm sure you'll have a good time!"

"With a bunch of stick-thin, big-boobed blondes? No thank you," Jade retorts. "I'm ninety-nine percent sure that the guy will take one look at me and ask me to leave."

"No, see, this is the funny part," Cat tells her with a giggle. "On _this_ show, the guy helps to choose the contestants, and he chose _you_. If you accept, which you absolutely have to, then you're on the show for sure. And please, Jade – you've got to go!"

"I don't think reality shows are for me," Jade begins, but she's cut off once again by Cat.

"Jade," Cat whines, her big eyes boring down into Jade's. "You get paid?"

"How much?" Jade questions.

"I think it's something like a couple thousand?" Cat says, tapping lightly on her own chin as if she is in deep speculation. "But maybe less, maybe more, I'm not really sure. They do pay you for your time, though! I think it's _ah _-leegal not to."

Jade doesn't even bother correcting Cat's pronunciation for once. Instead, she just shakes her head. "Fine, fine. I'll go. But one question… how did you get all this information to apply for me _anyway_?"

"You really shouldn't leave your wallet lying around," Cat says with an apathetic shrug and then, with a casual smirk, the girl is bouncing off. It is funny, Jade thinks, how a girl so naïve and adorable can be so conniving at the very same time. It seems like an oxymoron, almost. But this is different – she has just connived Jade into accepting a position on a _dating reality show_, when in reality, Jade doesn't even date, like at all, ever. The last time she went on a date was in her first year of high school, and she spilled her soda all over the guy's pants when he tried to kiss her. (It was totally an accident, except it really wasn't.)

How can a terrifying girl who is so _deathly_ afraid of relationships survive on a dating show? She doesn't know the answer to that. But she supposes she'll find out soon enough.

_Six weeks_, she thinks, scanning the letter that Cat had shoved into her hands. _Six weeks and her doom begins, six weeks until she becomes an actual superstar and changes the course of the whole world._

Just six more weeks.

.

On the way there, she blasts music. Her suitcases are piled high into the trunk, all the things she figures she'll need during this week of torture, including an endless supply of headphones, earplugs, and other such devices. Jade hates noise when she is not the one causing it.

But it is fine when she's cruising down the road, windows rolled down, half a confident (yeah, right) smile on her face, screaming the words to a song she must have heard twice in the past few minutes. She tries not to think of what waits for her at the end of the road, of her inevitable future, of how she will be expected to impress a guy she has never met before and knows nothing of aside from the fact that, according to Cat, he is 'good-looking' and 'super nice'. These two traits already mean that Jade will repulse him at first sight.

She laughs quietly to herself as she imagines herself turning this whole competition upside down. They are probably used to the bottle blondes and thin bodies parading through their shows; this girl (a challenge, or so she likes to think of herself) is quite the opposite. She is harsh contrast where they are light pastels; she is dark scowls where they are pasty smiles; she is hard while they are soft. And yet she has never really cared before.

It turns out, though, that Cat was, in fact, right about the hotel. It was a modest thing on the outside, only consisting of about two or three floors (for, Jade assumed, the staff and contestants, the _eligible_ got his own pad next door). The length of the hotel was very spacious anyway, and a pool on the outside (accompanied by an incredibly alluring hot tub) only raised her opinion of her new residence all the more.

"Name?" questioned a lady with a clipboard, walking up to her and raising an eyebrow.

"Jade West," Jade answers, reaching into her wallet to produce an ID. "I do hope you check these. Identify fraud is _such_ a widespread problem, and it would be so irresponsible of you not to check." The 'poor, innocent girl' looks flustered, which makes Jade laugh. "Anyway – what am I meant to be doing?"

"Over there, you'll be filming your introductory segment." The girl in front of her motions to a bunch of men with clipboards and cameras, all of them looking extremely professional. "Once that's all done– well, I guess you would say, the show is on, no? Everyone will be upstairs. We can all meet each other and all that, and then, soon, we'll be introducing the _eligible_ on live TV." The girl winks at her. "I hear he's like, crazy hot."

It's not the first time she has heard this, and she resists the urge to roll her eyes. _Doubt it_, she wants to say, but instead she just nods her head stiffly. "Got it."

"So you'll be doing your makeup and all first," the lady informs her, motioning at a trailer, "and then you'll be filming, so I hope you will prepare what you're going to say; looking sloppy on live television at the start of the show is not a particularly good move. But best of luck to you, anyway!"

Jade mutters something about the woman under her breath, and then, with a scowl on her face, stalks over to the trailer. There are a bunch of preppy-looking girls gathered around the trailer, all of them squealing, and Jade resists the urge to strangle them all. She ducks in and plops down on the chair, her face set into a frown.

"Well," the lady inside says in a dark tone of voice, "aren't you an interesting one. Definitely not our typical romantic sort of girl. But sit down, dear – we'll have you looking spiffy in no time."

Jade is not quite convinced that she wants to be made into the spiffy sort of girl, but she plops down into a chair anyway, wincing as the lady brings out a huge tub of makeup. But she bites down on her lip, remembers that she's getting paid and she's doing this for Cat anyway, and lets the lady do her worst. Which, of course, she does.

Soon Jade is peering at her reflection in the mirror, at the wisps of dark hair that are falling down to frame her face and the pink – _pink_ – makeup they've piled on her eyelids, making her look more like a fish than a normal girl. This can't be _legal_, she thinks bitterly, spinning to face the woman who is standing behind her, an appraising look on her face.

"I don't think this really goes with my image," Jade informs her, biting back all the harsh comments that come to her lips – she'll save those for later.

"I think you look simply precious," replies the lady as she glances at Jade's face. "Though you're right, those clothes don't really fit with the pink, but of course we can fix that…"

"I don't think you understand," Jade responds, a frown etching its way into her face. "I don't _want _to be all pink and prim and pretty. I would much rather just be _me, _thanks."

"But honey," the lady responds, looking concerned, "don't you want Beck to like you?"

Beck. _Beck. _It is the first time she's heard his name, and she is certain that it won't be the last. As terrible as it seems, she is stuck here – stuck here with a multitude of preps and this apparently drool-worthy boy named Beck – and she does not want to be a suck-up, does not want to prance around in pretty pink dresses in some misguided attempt to get him to notice her. So she shakes her head. "No," she says darkly, "if he doesn't like me for who I am, then I don't want him to like me at _all_."

Then she stubbornly wipes all the makeup off of her eyes. The lady in front of her gasps.

.

Not ten minutes later, she finds herself in front of a camera, lounging on a couch, arms crossed, eyes narrowed into a glare. It is obvious already what image they have decided to give her; the couch, after all, is made of black leather, and the second makeup artist they'd sent her to had done her up with smoky eyes that seemed almost as if they were on fire. The leather jacket they've shoved her into and the fake nails they've layered on her fingers are just further proof that they want her to be the resident bad girl. As if. Jade West is no stereotype, and this interview, she thinks, is going to prove it.

"So," the man in front of her, a stereotypical host, says, "Your name is Jade West?"

"Yes," is her abrupt response.

"And you're twenty years old and single?" he continues, obviously leading somewhere.

"Yes. Is there a problem with that?" she hisses, narrowing her eyes at the man.

"No, no, of course not," the man answers, his eyes widening; it is obvious he has never dealt with girls like Jade before. "Just, um, anyway… where exactly are you from?"

"I'm _from _LA, but I currently live in New York City," she replies. "Until, of course, I got sent _back_ to LA to do this dumb show."

"So it wasn't your decision to sign up for this show?" the man prods, looking interested. Of course, she thinks, people like him, low lives like him, are interested in any sort of gossip they can dig up, and this is certainly big news. She hates this show already, hates everyone on it.

"No," she says briskly, deciding to air out her so-called 'dirty laundry' for everyone to see before the other idiots on this show can get their hands on it (and then, honestly, she will have nothing to hide). "My best friend Cat signed me up because she says I need to get a boyfriend. Boys are scared of me, can you believe it?" She laughs humorlessly. "Anyway, I just came cause I get paid."

"Very honest," he says, but the fear – and the trepidation – are evident in his expression. "So, Jade West, are you excited to meet the _eligible_?"

"Honestly?" Jade questions, but she quickly continues with, "No. I'm really not. If he's anything like the guys off of those other dumb reality shows, he'll be conceited and a player and not worthy of my time. Like I said – I'm only here for the money and so I can mess things up. But hey, it could be fun to bring down that conceited rich boy a few notches – if you know what I mean." She grins, baring her mouth of bright, pearly teeth, and making the man shudder in fear.

"Um, well, thank you for your time, Miss West," the man says, then shuts off the camera. "I'm fairly sure that's all we'll need, but we will see you back down here for dinner and the grand presentation of the _eligible_. You can collect your room key at the front desk."

"Much appreciated," Jade calls. They've already taken her stuff to her room (thankfully), and she actually does have her own room (another good thing) so she won't have to deal with the girls on this show more than she has to. But ten minutes of sitting in her room texting her insipid best friend proves to become tedious, and so she decides to slip down into the lobby just to see the collection of girls that she'll be competing against.

A few of them are blonde, though not as many as she had imagined, and some are brunette with blonde highlights. Most of them, though, shoot her dark glares upon seeing her; she's not sure if it's because she's hot (which she most certainly is) or because she's – for all intents and purposes – terrifying. With a smirk, she seats herself on the sofa next to a dark-haired girl with her hair piled into a bun.

"You must be Jade West," the girl says in a dry voice, casting a glance over at Jade. "The whole studio's been in a buzz about you and your 'bad attitude' or whatever. Apparently you're not sucking up to the studio or to this Beck kid, and I admire that. Sophia, by the way."

"That would be me," Jade replies in a disinterested tone. "Looks like we've got the basic collection here. Girls desperate for fame and love. Such a pity."

"I'm just here for the free food and the nice hotel," Sophia tells her with a shrug. One glance over at the brunette tells Jade that the girl is gorgeous, beyond gorgeous in fact, like _supermodel_ gorgeous, but she doesn't seem interested in sucking up to the producers or to Beck whatever. She thinks they might just get along.

And then an annoying voice penetrates her ears.

"Oh my gosh," a girl squeals. "There's like, only thirty more minutes, and I'm excited. This is going to be fun, I think." And then, with a glance over at Jade – "Hey, aren't you that mean girl they were talking about before? Jade East?"

"Jade West, thanks," Jade replies with a roll of her eyes. "And I'm not mean. I'm just _honest_, unlike some people here."

The collective intake of breath that comes from all over the room is pleasing. Jade has to smile, and all the more as the questioner's face falls once again. It is evident already that she is fake, and even more evident that the two of them won't get along. She makes an angry face. "Come on, you don't have to be rude. We're all going to be here together for the next few weeks, right? We could at least try and make an effort! Personally, I think it's going to be fun. Beck's so hot, and I'm sure he'll like me."

Jade wants to tell her that the only way that Beck would _like her _is if she had on a mask (and didn't speak, for that matter), but she keeps her mouth clamped shut and her beady eyes on the dark-headed chick. The girl just smiles nervously back at her. "Hey," she says brightly, "I think you're pretty too; don't worry! You definitely have a chance."

Jade wants to laugh, and she can hear titters all over the room, probably courtesy of the stuck-up blondes. She wants to tell this chick that she doesn't have a chance with Beck because she doesn't _want _to, because this definitely wasn't a voluntary sort of thing, because Beck is going to be just like every other guy and anyway hardly anyone ever finds love on reality shows because they aren't even _real_ anyway (totally defeating the actual purpose of reality shows). But once again, she just rolls her eyes. "Thanks… uh…"

"Tori," the too-bright girl says with a grin. "My name's Tori Vega."

"Whatever. Thanks, Vega." And then she turns back to Sophia with a roll of her eyes and wonders if it's possible to go to sleep in a room where the chattering is incessant and the average IQ is probably 55 (or lower, possibly).

But it's too late, because someone bursts in screaming about how it's time for lunch and they ought to hurry if they want to get good seats. She doesn't get a good glance at the girl, but she sees a bunch of honey and caramel curls and dark brown eyes, and she knows already that this girl is obnoxious too.

They all file into a room that must be the grand dining hall of their fancy hotel. A stage is placed at one side, and on the other, there are a multitude of tables, all covered in shiny white tablecloths. Jade is sure to sit as far away from Tori as possible, which means she gets stuck at a table with a bunch of whiny girls – and Sophia, which is good, but still, she thinks she might end up the talk of the town because of her murderous tendencies. And – _shocker_ – on live TV.

As soon as they sit down, picking up their utensils to dig into their fresh green salads (do they think that these girls are fat? Jade wonders, because she doesn't see a single fat girl in the whole room), the obnoxious curly-haired girl stands up and starts screaming. The rest of the room follows suit – all except Jade and Sophia, who rolls her eyes. "Beck's here," she mouths.

Jade notices, especially as the dark-haired boy ascends to the stage, a half-smile plastered upon his supermodel-esque face. He's good-looking; she's not going to lie. But she has a feeling already that he's not her type.

He grins out at the crowd. "Oh, hey, hey! How's everyone doing? My name's Beck Oliver, and yes, I am the _eligible _one – funny, right? I see some lovely ladies out there and I'm looking forward to getting to know you all, even if it is only for a short time."

Jade's mouth falls open; she had, of course, forgotten that the first night of the show, a few girls were chosen to be sent home. She could go home before the drama started, before anything went down really, before she had the chance to be bad-mouthed and constantly rejected by this Beck Oliver kid – or worse, pursued by him. It was like a dream come true. But did she really want to go home so early in the competition, to be embarrassed like that? Her infamy had paved a way for her already; if she stayed in the competition, her fame would only rise. She shrunk down in her seat.

"For introductions today, since this is a new show and all, we've decided to do it a new way," Beck called out cheerfully. "I'm going to call out the names and the person will stand on stage while their intro clip is played – and might I add, the intro clips are edited, which was necessary for some of you." People laugh; Jade wants to roll her eyes. "Okay, let's go! First up is Rachel Block."

As the girl with jet-black hair meanders her way up on stage, Jade wonders if the stereotype of beach blonde-washed girls on reality shows like this one is a myth. A lot of the girls seem fairly nervous, but then there are the confident ones, the ones that honestly believe they have a chance at winning this thing, and Jade might think they were right if there weren't multiple girls.

Tori Vega is called – "Hi, guys, I'm Tori Vega! I'm from LA," Jade wants to groan because how is this girl from the same city as her, "and I'm really excited to get this chance. I wanna be a singer, I think. I love music! I'm so excited to get to know Beck – and everyone else here, of course." – and then the curly-headed, obnoxious brunette, who ends up, of course, being Tori's older sister, probably placed on there so that there could be drama on the show. Trina Vega, she is named, and she exudes an odd sort of confidence despite her obvious lack of manners or anything of the sort; her intro clip shows this.

Then some blonde chick called Elle Weathers is called, and finally it is Jade's turn. She is last, which bodes well for her; it is always the last one that people remember the most. She struts in stage, her confidence spilling from her half-smile, half-smirk, and she stands next to Beck, who, much to her dismay, doesn't pee his pants. She smirks all the more as her intro clip is played, but he still does not shudder, even when she speaks about him. Instead, there is an odd sort of light in his eyes, as if he is taking this as a challenge rather than a threat. Well, she thinks, at least it's a challenge she will win.

Beck looks bewildered, much to her happiness, and she hands the microphone back to him, going to take her seat beside the unbearable Trina Vega, who simply gives her a disgusted glare. Down the line, Sophia is stifling a laugh behind her hands, and Jade thinks it's nice that she has found someone just as annoyed with this sorry excuse for a show as she is.

They are all expected to sit, now, at one large table – in alphabetical order, of course, in a clockwise order, with Beck at the end, which means that Jade is beside Trina (again) with Beck on her other side, and a bunch of jabbering chicks across from her. She rolls her eyes and sinks down in her chair, hoping that at least the menu is good tonight.

"You look nice." The words spill from the boy's mouth, and Jade glances up to see that he's talking to her.

She rolls her eyes. "You don't have to talk to me."

"You're on this show, Jade," Beck replies calmly, and Jade is startled to realize that he has already memorized her name – an odd feat for someone who has the names of twenty-four girls to remember. "You might as well get to know me."

"Or you could just send me home tonight and get it over with," she sneers. He locks eyes with her – dark eyes, full of determination and mirth – and she knows that he won't.

"I'm Beck Oliver," he tells her again in a soft tone. "And I'm from LA. It's nice to meet you."

_Ugh_, she thinks, because she is not supposed to like him. She is supposed to think he's conceited and a jerk – which he is, he has to be, because he's on this dumb reality show, but the way he's talking to her, the way he's looking at her, makes her wonder, and – no. She won't.

"I'd tell you my name, but you already know it. Oh, and by the way? This show sucks already."

Beck laughs and looks like he's going to say something, but he's interrupted by Trina Vega, who, in her desperation, has decided to cut into Jade and Beck's conversation. "I'm Trina," she says in a manner that is probably _meant_ to be sultry. "I have like, Mexican blood in me. Or something."

"Latina," Tori interrupts patiently from beside her.

"Yeah," Trina says, casting a glare back at her sister, and then she purrs, "_Areba_."

Beck looks confused – disturbed, even – much to her amusement, but before she can even laugh, the _people in charge_ yell that they're going to switch seats now and she is maneuvered down the table, where there is the 'main course' – which, it seems, consists of tiny pieces of chicken. With a roll of her eyes, Jade picks up a piece of chicken and pops it in her mouth, which seems to scandalize Trina.

"Oh my gosh!" Trina reprimands. "Do you know how much fat is in that one piece of chicken? Like, honestly, it would take about twenty minutes of walking – running even – to burn off –"

"Shut up," Jade cuts her off, grabbing another piece of chicken and defiantly popping it into her mouth as well. Trina's jaw drops, and Jade has a feeling that this is going to be a _long_ couple of weeks – or, if Beck does vote her off, a long night.

After their meager dinner, they are each sent in for a one-on-one chat with Beck that typically lasts about 5 minutes. Of course, this is done in alphabetical order as well, so Jade watches, Sophia on one side, as the girls parade in and out of the room, each of them with some stupid glow about them as if they are certain already that they are going to be the selected girl. Jade hates them all.

Once Sophia heads in, Tori Vega ventures over to her. "Hey, Jade."

"Bye," is Jade's response.

"Come on," Tori says with a frown. "You look lonely and unhappy to be here, so, I mean, I don't wanna be rude or anything, but why are you here?"

"My best friend thinks I'm going to be single forever," Jade snaps, not even looking at the other girl. "So I'm stuck here until Beck Oliver decides to do me a favor and send me away from you people."

"Oh," Tori says, looking frightened, and Jade thinks it's rather funny how innocent this girl is. She is nearly as innocent as Cat, and there's something to be said about _that_. "Well, I don't think it's fair to be rude to all of us. Some of us need the money, you know."

"Says the girl who is living in LA."

"So are you," Tori points out. Jade is slightly amazed at her brevity in this remark; she had thought Tori the spineless sort of pretty girl. Perhaps – _perhaps_ – she had underestimated her. "But whatever, Jade. I'm trying to be nice, okay, but obviously you're not up for it. But hey, find me if you ever need someone, okay?"

Jade's second impression of the girl is that she is like, _way_ too nice.

After Trina comes out, prancing and squealing about how Beck had practically proposed already (yeah, right, Jade thinks, like anyone would ever want to marry _Trina_), Jade is sent in. She walks in, arms crossed, face set in a scowl, and raises an eyebrow at the dark-haired boy. "What do you want?"

"Hey, Jade." Still no fear anywhere in his face. It's starting to bother her. He is the picture of quiet confidence, smile on his face, mirth in his eyes, laughter in his voice, and he won't stop staring at her as she takes the seat across from him (only because she is too lazy to stand up). "So, tell me about yourself."

"I hate you."

He hums. "Mmhmm. I'm fairly certain you're supposed to be telling me stuff I don't already know." Oddly enough, she kind of likes this sass – this wit – that he has conjured up; scarcely does anyone ever talk back to her, and she enjoys bickering with people.

"Well," she says hotly, "I hate bras that hook in the front, the color yellow, tuna fish, flowers, giggling, the word 'panties', cilantro, rainbows, ducks – man, I _hate _ducks – cramps, string cheese, clocks – "

He cuts her off with a small laugh. "I get it; you hate everything."

"No." Her voice is saturated with even more determination than before. "I don't hate everything, all right? If I hated everything, that would make me predictable, and I am far from predictable. So, in addition to hating things, I also love. I love bunnies, for example, and don't laugh, either. I love coffee. When I was little, I used to say that I wanted to marry a man like coffee."

He grins and runs a hand through his hair – his dark, _coffee-colored _hair – oh crap. "I love coffee too, coincidentally. I'm not really awake in the morning until I have my coffee. I like it black with two sugars."

She blinks, eyes wide. "Weird. I like mine that way too."

"Weird coincidence," he says, but he doesn't look as if he thinks it's a coincidence at all; instead, he is smiling at her, a smile that makes its way to his eyes and makes him look even handsomer than the first time she saw him, a smile that makes her think that _maybe she has a chance_, and really she shouldn't even want one, shouldn't even want to stay on any longer than she has to, shouldn't even find him attractive or alluring in the first place.

When she gets out of the room, though, Sophia asks her how it went, and she replies with a simple, "Terrible," which makes Sophia laugh.

It's a lie. Jade has to wonder when she became so very dishonest.

.

The ceremony is late that night – well, around midnight, and all the girls are yawning. Beck has twenty roses set in front of him in a straight line and a smile on his face, like he has already decided, like he knows these girls well enough after one night to have decided their fates, their futures. He is cocky, Jade realizes, just as she had predicted.

The host steps up. "Welcome back, girls, to tonight's ceremony. I hate that we have to send people home, really, but alas, this is the nature of the show." He pauses for laughter that Jade is certain will not come. "Anyway, I'm turning it over to Beck to announce the twenty girls that will be staying till next week."

Beck grins and takes the microphone. "Hey, everyone. It's been really nice to meet you all, but I have, in fact, come to a decision. When I call your name, please come take a rose. Ally Dawson, Jade West…"

Jade freezes in her spot. Had he just said _Jade West_? It can't be, and especially not in the second spot, but he's grinning maniacally at her, and so she is expected to go take a rose, amid his continuation of his list – "Tori Vega, Marnie Fabola, Melanie Jimenez…". She stands awkwardly beside the girl called Ally Dawson, a girl with big brown eyes and a kind smile, and on her other side stands Laura Carson, a girl who sends her a conspiratorial wink – does she know her?

She is staying another week. It takes another minute to sink in. Beck Oliver likes her enough to keep her around another week, despite her efforts to keep her away. This, she thinks, is odd; since when had any guy taken an interest in _Jade?_

But she will do it, she will stick around, because she is strong and hey, maybe this won't be so bad after all. (However, it has _nothing_ to do with Beck. Seriously.)

The girls who are going home look downright devastated. Tara Ganz, some ganky blonde, begins to weep after her name is not called, and Hope Quincy throws a toddler-worthy temper tantrum. Erica Stevens and Chelsea Grant just nod in despair and let tears trail down their faces like pathetic little puppy dogs. She is glad to have them out of here, though Tara's ganky brunette friend Hayley is staying – much to her dismay. It seems that she can never fully win.

The challenge is on, though, she realizes. Perhaps this show has nothing to do with survival skills, but they are certainly necessary – and Jade is going to do it, she is going to survive, to show these girls up. And so, once she returns to her room, she calls Cat.

"Hey, Cat. I'm staying another week. Probably longer, actually."

.

**A/N: loool my life. Kudos to you if you catch the references to other show(s). hopefully you enjoyed this I blame Britt and Rachel. Updates (as always) will be sporadic at best but reviews always encourage me (hint hint). Please review if you enjoyed and I'm sorry this is bad. BTW it's not supposed to be exactly like the Bachelor; inaccuracies are intentional **


	2. Chapter 2

_The Eligible_

Eventual Jade/Beck

_Week 2_

"I cannot _believe _I'm still here," Sophia gripes the next hour at breakfast. "I swear that kid is sadistic, or masochistic, either one."

"Well, I'm still here too," Jade points out, "so he's clearly got some sort of mental issue." A small smirk spreads across her face, touching at the edges of her lips; it is clear from the very first week that she is not the typical kind of girl that they get on these shows, and she plans on flaunting that as much as possible – and keeping her distance from Beck, because anything to do with _him_ and his idiocy completely stains her newfound reputation.

"Right." Sophia grins, and looks as if she's about to say something, but she is interrupted by the girl beside her.

"I told you that you guys would stay!" Tori Vega says brightly, looking fresh and happy at freaking seven o'clock in the morning. "I'm really glad, and I'm glad Tara went home, because she wasn't all that nice. I don't think she's Beck's type anyway, not that I really _know_ what his type is, but, you know, I can assume."

The naivety of this girl is somewhat amusing. Jade laughs. "So you think you're Beck's type?"

"Maybe," Tori tells her with a coy shrug. "I guess he'll just have to decide that for himself! Oh, but aren't you guys excited for the group date this afternoon?"

_Group date? _Jade wants to vomit. Spending an afternoon with a boatload of intolerable girls and one intolerable guy is not exactly her idea of a pleasurable afternoon, and all the more since she knows that the girls will be desperate for Beck's attention, something she honestly doesn't understand since there has to be _loads _more attractive guys in the world than Beck. But she relishes in the idea of breaking their hearts and having Beck pick her again, week after week, _just_ so that she can see the looks on their faces when he picks her over them, and only for that reason.

Another girl with a head full of curls sits down at the table and grins. "I hear we're going out sailing today – you know, at the beach!" She smiles coyly, as if this is the best thing she's ever heard. "Oh, I just can't wait. It's going to be so romantic."

"Yeah, totally romantic with nineteen other girls there," Jade gripes under her breath, making Tori roll her eyes and Sophia laugh. The girl, who she remembers is named Brittany, just looks confused.

"Do I hear negativity?" says a surprised voice from behind her, and Jade takes a turn to roll her eyes once she discovers it is the one and only _Beck Oliver_, complete with a grin on his face that is clearly directed her way, and she hates him. She hates that he is even here. And she especially hates that her brain melts a tiny bit when she sees that darned grin.

"Oh, no, of course not," Jade replies in a sweet 1920s accent. "I'm Tori _Vega_ and I would _never_ do anything to hurt anybody! What is negativity? Somebody please tell me because I'm so innocent that I don't even know!"

"Hey!" Tori yelps, looking quite offended, much to Jade's amusement. "I do _not_ talk like that!"

Jade is expecting a sharp reprimand from Beck, or at least some form of disapproval, so she has to admit that she is pleasantly surprised when instead he bursts into laughter. She wasn't expecting this boy, this random boy, to have the same sense of humor as her, not at all, but as he looks back at her, a twinkle in his eye, she thinks he might just get her humor, sort of. Everyone else joins in once he starts laughing, and even Tori forces a little chuckle, probably to show she's not totally uptight (even though she _really_ is). Beck grins again. "So you guys ready to go sailing?"

_Sailing_. Suddenly the words sink in. They are going sailing. Like, in the ocean. With fish that _urinate _and sharks and dolphins that are _far, far _too friendly for her liking…

"NO!" She leaps out of her seat, causing nearly everyone in the room to shoot her weird looks, but, as always, she couldn't care less. "I _refuse_. You can make me eat spiders or immerse myself in boiling hot water like you're a witch that's trying to _cook _me but forcing me into the ocean, that's going too far! Do you know what's in the ocean? Do you? Do you _know_ about those dolphins?!"

Everyone glances at each other, clearly confused, and she can feel her breath coming heavier, faster. Then Beck is walking over toward her, looking concerned as ever. "Jade," he says, "you know if you don't want to go, you can stay here and all the rest of us will go."

There is one other feeling, one other sensation, that Jade hates, though, and that is the feeling of being left behind. She can't stand the thought of all the girls on there, glad to be rid of her, of Sophia, abandoned with the most obnoxious lot of girls on the planet, of Beck… no, she won't think of him. And backing out of this will make her a coward. So, in a determined manner, she raises her head and says, "Never mind. I'll just go."

Possibly those are the five stupidest words that have ever come out of her mouth, but there is no way to take them back now.

* * *

She is glad, honestly, that they make them wear life jackets; in a way she thinks that the helpless sensations that accompany drowning would make drowning one of the most undesirable ways to die ever. But she looks like a Cheeto with white powder on top, and she announces this to everyone within a five mile radius, practically.

"You look cute," Sophia tells her with a laugh, and she scowls at her newfound partner in crime.

"Maybe it's better to just drown myself now and get it over with," she muses, looking with wide, nervous eyes at the boat that is to carry them; it's white and it looks stable enough, so she's hardly worried about that, but the fact that it sails on the ocean – _the ocean_ – that scares her more than anything, and she is already concerned about how she is meant to get on this contraption, much less sail practically halfway around the world on it.

"Jade, come on, it's a nice ship!" exclaims – guess who – Tori Vega.

"Yeah, maybe nice if you're a cabin boy," says a girl who, flipping her dark curls, saunters up to the ship and eyes it with disdainful eyes – Trina Vega. "But for me, this ship is just not up to standard. It's practically a sailboat!"

"It is a sailboat," Brittany tells her, looking confused again.

"See what I mean!" Trina exclaims dramatically, sounding as if she's going to _die _if she even comes into contact with something so low quality. "Beck had best hurry up, because he's the only reason I'm going on this _thing_ anyway. You know, where I come from, no one would dare make me get on a _sailor's boat_."

"What kind of boat would you get on?" Brittany looks all the more stumped now, making Jade snicker at this girl's obvious naiveté. When everyone around her chuckles as well, Brittany frowns. "What? Is there another kind of boat? Is a cruise ship a boat?"

Thankfully, Beck cuts in before she can go any farther. "All right, hello everybody. I hope you've all got your life vests on – I must warn you that I'm not a very experienced sailor, but I'll try my best."

"That's it, I'm leaving," Jade announces, attempting to pull off her lifejacket. Who would make it so hard to take off, anyway? Like did they _want_ them to suffocate or get eaten by a shark?

"You can't leave me alone," Sophia hisses, a scowl etched on to her face. "These girls are like insufferable, and Beck's kind of annoying too."

"Wait, are you scared?" Tori cuts in, a small smile on her face that Jade considers to be _smug_ and thus the girl is evidently making fun of her. "Aw Jade, that's okay. When I was younger I used to be scared of the pool, because I thought my uncle would push me in, but now I'm fine. Everyone has fears. You've just got to overcome them, you know?"

"Aw Jade, that's so cute," Hayley coos, and Jade wishes that she would fall into the water and get eaten by, like, a barracuda. If barracudas even eat people. Jade's not entirely sure what their functions are. "You're scared of the water! Isn't that precious, Beck?" The girl is cuddling up to Beck, fluttering her eyelashes in some misguided attempt to be flirty, and Jade wants to rip off her head.

Jade balls up her fists, but thankfully (again, this boy seems to be her knight in shining armor today or something – not that she needs one) Beck jumps in. "I'm sure she's not scared of the water, Hayley."

"No, it's just gross," Jade declares hotly. "First of all, this water is all gross and murky. You can hardly see what's in it." ("I think it's pretty darn clear," Tori jumps in, but Jade ignores her.) "And also, there are _fish _in there. Like sharks and whales, even if whales don't eat people. And barracudas and piranhas and starfish that latch onto you and those poisonous anemone things and you know what fish do? They pee. And poop. In the freaking water. So if I fall in, I'm going to get eaten by a shark whilst simultaneously being smothered in fish wastes."

The cameraman, who has just started filming their interactions, looks completely shocked, and Jade has to smirk – some people are too easily frightened.

But then a blonde girl, stroking one of her curls, speaks up. "I rather like the water, actually, and besides swimming helps build muscles and stuff."

"Everyone on the boat," Beck announces, probably in order to keep Jade from pursuing her point. She just rolls her eyes and walks slowly to the back of the line, hoping that she won't have to speak with any of these obnoxious girls again.

"Do you think we can turn this show into some sort of CSI affair?" she whispers conspiratorially to Sophia. "Maybe we can get Vega in on it too – the younger one, that is – so that the perpetrator won't be so obvious. Mass killing on a reality show. How cool would that be?"

Sophia just laughs.

Jade ends up going off by herself, since she's feeling slightly carsick and Sophia is chatting (rather stiffly) with some Rachel chick. She sits on a bench, gazing out at the ocean and enjoying the feel of the wind in her hair; this is one thing that is almost enjoyable, almost tolerable, about sailing, the fact that she feels so free and alive and content. She glances out at the expanse of the waves, one after another, as they pull the boat away from the shore, and she thinks that it's almost interesting how huge this world is and how irrelevant she is in comparison.

Then there is a movement beside her, and she turns quickly to see Beck Oliver staring at her, looking rather amused. "You don't look angry," he notes. "I was halfway convinced that you'd jump out of the boat and swim to shore until I realized that plan would entail getting in the water."

"Yeah, well, this might not be as bad as I thought," she admits, but then she quickly follows it up with, "but it's worse now that you've decided to talk to me."

He laughs again, and she might kind of hate that he didn't take her threats seriously – if she didn't find it kind of amusing in a world where almost everyone is terrified of her. "You look like you've got a lot on your mind, though."

"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't," she replies mysteriously, placing her chin on her hand, glancing down at her ebony fingernails. "Either way, what's it to you, Mr. Pretty Boy?"

"Well, it might help if you get it off your chest," he offers, "and I probably shouldn't be saying this, considering the circumstances, but like I care – I find you intriguing."

"So you're breaking the rules then?" Jade wonders, her mouth curving up slightly. "My, my. How in the world did they let such a rebel be the promised eligible?"

"Shh, don't tell," he whispers with a teasing grin, but then he continues, "Seriously, Jade, give me the benefit of the doubt here. I just want to talk to you. I mean, you looked lonely – and don't murder me for saying that, because you know it's true – and I think you look like you could use someone to talk to, you know?"

"Whatever." Jade sighs, and then says, "I don't know, just a lot of crap at home. Like my best friend – she's the sweetest girl ever, but then again she's a child, and she can hardly take care of herself, so honestly I feel bad about leaving her behind. And then some crap with this guy who I _swear_ is stalking me or something, and my mom's sick, and – whatever, I'm sure you don't want to hear all this, but anyway you asked."

"It's okay to have feelings, you know," he teases her, "and I was starting to think you were just a mean girl with no other emotions." When she fixes him with a glare, he laughs. "I'm kidding. But anyway, Jade, I just want to tell you that…"

He's cut off by an abrupt scream. Both of them exchange a glance and then haul off to the side of the ship, where there's a girl floating in the ocean, her head bobbing above the surface, mascara trailing down her face. Her hands are the only other things above water, and they are flailing about purposelessly as she continues to shriek at the top of her lungs. Everyone else, though, is gathered around, laughing hysterically.

"Trina fell in," Sophia tells her with a laugh. "She was leaning over the railing while she made that Ally chick take a picture of her – that Ally girl's too nice, I swear – and then she lost her balance in those fifty-inch-heels and _bam_, straight into the water."

"Aw, come on," Tori complains. "Someone should help her. All right, no takers? Guess it's me, then." She sighs and hoists herself up onto the second bar of the railing, extending a hand to her older sister.

One of the weird girls, some chick named Fawn Lebowitz (what kind of a name is _that_, Jade wonders), nudges her. "You were over there talking to Beck, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Jade raises her eyebrows in a challenging sort of way. Are people _already_ jealous of her? Honestly, this could be the most amusing thing ever if it persists.

"Nothing." Fawn sniffs. "It's just that I don't think he's supposed to isolate girls or at least not purposefully, so if he's doing that I guess you're something special." She gives a creepy smile and then slips off, sending a slight chill down Jade's spine – is this girl freaking psychotic?

Trina, who has finally been pulled back on board, starts wailing. "My shoes – and this shirt, it's all soaked in _fish pee and poop! _This fantastic outfit – gone to waste!"

Beck starts laughing. When everyone looks at him strangely (and Trina glares at him), he shrugs sheepishly. "It's a pun, you know? Gone to _waste_? Fish waste?"

* * *

"Okay," Sophia says, walking into Jade's room (without invitation, Jade notes, making her scowl), "we're going out tonight. All of us who don't have a date with Beck, that is. And _you're _going with us."

"Don't tell me what to do," Jade shoots back, but she sighs. "Who all is going?"

"You, me, Tori," Jade groans, but Sophia continues anyway, "that Brittany chick, Ally, Trish, Rachel, Laura, Rosie, Morgan, and Beth. Pretty sure that's it."

"Fine. But if I get extremely annoyed, I'm coming back."

"To sit alone in the hotel with Hayley Van Obnoxious?" Sophia counters.

"Touché." Jade has to make a face at the mere idea of spending any ounce of time with one of the most obnoxious girls on the show, that is, excepting Trina Vega, who she is either extremely annoyed with or extremely amused by at any given time. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Some dance club, I dunno." Sophia shrugs. "Trish knows of it, apparently – even though she's like, from Miami or whatever. Apparently her cousin works there, and it's really cool – which, coming from her, means it's probably really lame, but it beats sitting here all night."

"Whatever, but I've got to find something to wear," Jade tells her with a sigh, looking forlornly at her bag of black things – nothing too sophisticated, since she had decided early on that this 'competition' per se was going to garner no effort from her.

"Don't worry," Sophia tells her with a smirk, "I've got it covered."

* * *

By the time Sophia is done with her, she's dressed in a short black dress paired with dark earrings and heels. Her eyes are done up perfectly, and her dark, purple-streaked hair is pulled into a bun on top of her hair. She feels slightly self-conscious, but at the same time entirely alluring; she doesn't typically dress this way, and it makes her feel oddly sexy. She grins at Sophia.

"Looking good, girl," Sophia tells her with a coy wink. "Now c'mon, we've got to get going before the other girls leave us."

So the two of them strut down to the lobby, bags dangling from their wrists, looking like socialites rather than annoyed girls on a reality show. All of that changes, though, when they discover Beck sitting in the lobby, magazine sprawled across his lap. When they walk in, he sits up straight immediately, eyes focused on Jade – and only on Jade, cheeks flushing a deep shade of red.

"What are you doing here?" she inquires with a slight raise of her eyebrow.

"Waiting on Alyssa," he replies, running a hand through his hair. "You look… gorgeous." He's still eyeing her, and finally his eyes drift up to meet hers, all chocolate and warmth, and she shouldn't like it, really she shouldn't.

"Thanks," she says, glancing down slightly. "See ya later, Oliver. Oh, and have fun on your date." The last part she says with evident sarcasm, because Alyssa Vaughn is yet another of the most intolerable girls here; she is an _actual_ socialite, rich and spoiled and bratty, every single horrible stereotype, and Jade would rather like to strangle her as well.

"You too," he tells her with a grin, and she hates him really she does. But she just gives her head a toss and follows Sophia out the door.

By the time they get to the dance club, it is packed, and Jade wonders if this Trish chick actually got something right. People are populating the dance floor, showing off their dance moves, and at once Trish drags Laura out to the floor. Brittany laughs and starts doing some weird dance by herself, and Jade shakes her head.

"Somehow I don't think this is my scene," she tells Sophia laughingly. "I can't dance, actually. I mean I try sometimes, but I dance like a white girl. Cause, ya know, I'm as white as snow."

"Maybe that's because you're standing next to me," Sophia reminds her, holding up a cocoa arm. "Anyway, you've got to dance. Somehow I think that's the whole point of coming to a dance club, you know?"

"You can dance with me!" Tori Vega offers brightly, grin spread across her face.

"Um, no thanks," Jade says, trying to hold back her laughter. "How about you two go and have a _merry time _together, and I'll go see what drinks this crappy place has to offer."

Before either can answer, she stomps off to the 'bar' – which, actually, does not sell alcoholic drinks, much to her dismay, but in fact just sells a bunch of sodas and fake alcoholic beverages. She rolls her eyes, plopping down next to some guy with a bunch of hair gel.

"Hey," the guy greets her in a deep voice. She simply stares at him, and he keeps going, obviously not deterred. "Can I buy you a drink or something?"

"You can leave me alone," she responds darkly.

"Feisty, I like it." The guy gives a deep, throaty laugh, one that is seriously starting to creeper her out. "Name's Ryder. You from around here? Because I think you've got one sexy body."

"And _I _think that I don't want to talk to _you_, so seriously, go find some other girl that will fall for your lame pickup lines." She sends him a dirty look, and, in doing so, evaluates _his _looks. He's sort of good-looking, she supposes; he has dark features and eyes, but not chocolate eyes like Beck's – they're more mud-colored, more like looking into a void, and she finds that she's not attracted to him in the least. In fact, she's more attracted to Beck than she is to him, and _that's _saying something.

"Believe me, there are plenty." The guy laughs. _Conceited_, she files mentally. "But darn girl, you've got a rocking body. How about you give me your number?"

"How about _you_ stop talking to me or I'll punch you in the jaw?" she mutters, her teeth clenched together so tightly she thinks she might bite her tongue off.

"Come on, babe," says Ryder through a creepy smile, "don't be like that." And then his freaking _hand_ is on her, on her waist, running upwards, upwards, way too close for comfort –

Before she can stop herself, her fist collides with his jaw, just as she had promised. Ryder jumps back, obviously surprised, though of course she _had_ warned him. She's hardly merciless. Everyone in the club, though, is looking at them, obviously shocked and surprised. Biting her lip, Jade stomps off. "Let's get out of here," she whispers to Sophia, and Sophia does so.

* * *

Her date with Beck is the next day, and so she avoids everyone until then, not really wanting to hear their pointless, dumb questions about why she had punched the guy in the jaw, since she's fairly sure that no one had considered it below her anyway. She spends most of her time watching crappy romance movies on televisions and laughing at the hapless heroines, glad that her fate isn't quite as bad as theirs is.

"You should get out more," Ally says when she comes into Jade's room the next day, followed by Tori Vega (obviously, Jade thinks, a meeting of the freaking Sunshine Committee or something). "Come on, Jade! We're all going down to the pool, since it's such a nice day, and I think you'd have a good time."

"Yeah, Jade," Tori adds, obviously pleased with her contribution. "I mean Trina won't be there – she's out on her 'date' with Beck now, you know – and so you might enjoy yourself."

"Leave me alone," Jade groans, burying her face in her pillow. She hates when people can't mind her own business, and she thinks she really should add that to the ever expanding list.

She manages to convince them to leave at last and spends the rest of her time getting ready for her so-called date with Beck, even though she really doesn't care all that much. But by the time she gets down to the lobby, she looks pretty fabulous, if she does say so herself.

Beck, it seems, agrees with this, since he whispers, "You look amazing."

"Do I?" she questions with a small smirk. "Now come on, get me out of this freaking hotel before I legitimately go insane and have to be checked into an asylum and ruin your dumb old show."

He laughs again, holding out his arm to escort her like some 1800s gentleman, and for whatever reason she takes it. The two of them leave the hotel together then, getting into some car that drives away as soon as they get in, and at last Jade thinks to ask, "Where are we going?"

"Dinner," Beck tells her with a grin. "I figured it'd be cool to do a typical dinner date type situation, you know?"

"I think you mean cliché," Jade replies with some distaste.

"Yeah, well, I'm just a walking cliché." He smirks at her, and she wants to punch him, only she decides this time to keep her reflexes under control.

However, that seems to be the first time on his mind, too, because by the time they get seated at the restaurant, he asks her, "So Jade, I hear you punched this guy in the jaw at a dance club the other night."

"Yeah, well, he deserved it," Jade mutters, glancing down at the blood-red napkin placed precariously in her lap.

"Why?" he questions, and his question does not seem to be out of any sort of malice like Alyssa freaking Vaughn's had been, but instead it seems to be primarily out of concern – for her, she thinks, with some trepidation. She finds it odd that someone like Beck would care for her.

"Because he wouldn't leave me alone," Jade replies with a sigh. "I told him to go away and stop freaking hitting on me, but he wouldn't listen, and then he called me babe and he freaking touched me, so I punched him in his big ugly jaw. There's nothing more to it."

"He touched you?" Beck's eyes flare up, and his fists clench. She has not yet seen him angry, so this sort of response surprises her – she wasn't certain if he had any emotions besides being amused, cocky, concerned, and, well, neutral.

"Yeah, but not for long, cause I got rid of that idiot really quickly," she tells him, smirking slightly, quite proud of herself. "Anyway, Oliver, how has your day been?"

He groans. "I had to go on dates with that Hayley girl, Fawn, Trina, and Trish… you tell me."

She has to laugh. "Poor you, then. They're all pretty much insufferable. I don't know how you stand it, honestly."

"Trina's sort of amusing, and so are the others, in their own special sort of ways, so I keep them around. I mean, we've got to have some sort of drama in the show, haven't we, or we won't have many viewers." He gives a martyr-like shrug.

"So you're just keeping them around for views? Isn't this, like, meant to be a show for you to find your freaking true love or some sappy crap like that?" she questions, slightly confused, since she feels he should be able to vote off anyone he doesn't like, or at least isn't romantically interested in, because _this is his show_ – not the networks, but his. This is _his_ life.

"Yeah, I guess," he says with a shrug.

"And you're not interested in any of the girls?" she inquires further. Truthfully, she's not sure why she's so concerned about this, but it seems sort of intriguing – the freaking eligible one doesn't even like any of the girls, and instead is keeping them for views. (She wonders absently if that is what he'd done with her, if he'd kept her around only for views.)

"I didn't say _that_," Beck objects with a slight smile. "One of the girls interests me, you know. She's different from all of the other girls. She's not a snob or anything, and she's just so intriguing. I can never figure her out. She's gorgeous, funny, but she's also very intimidating, so suffice it to say that I probably wouldn't tell her. Anyway, I've still got like ten more weeks to do this, so I'm not allowed to make distinct decisions now."

"But you've got someone in mind?" she prods.

"I have," he confirms with a nod, taking a sip of her drink, and she has to wonder about this mysterious girl that has so quickly captured Mr. Pretty Boy's heart.

* * *

The flower ceremony takes place not long after that, and to Jade's amusement she is not sent home either. Beck, who stands up on stage and grins, gives the roses to 18 girls, leaving only two without – Fawn Lebowitz, aka the creepiest girl alive, and Hayley, who Jade is glad to see leave. She'd had a feeling that Beck didn't like her anyways; they seemed to have a similar taste in people. So it was nice to see that her suspicions were, in fact, correct.

"Another week here in paradise," Sophia moans, collapsing onto Jade's bed. "Can't wait to hear about the latest scandal. Oh wait – Laura broke a nail, somebody call the freaking FBI."

Jade fingers the rose between her fingertips, thinking of the smile Beck shot her when he handed it over, and Sophia notices with an eye roll. "Sorry, I forgot that the main guy's like, in love with you, so you won't be leaving any time soon."

"Wait, what?" Jade snaps her attention back to Sophia.

"You heard me." Sophia rolls her eyes again. "Beck's always staring at you. It's sorta creepy. But, you know, whatever." She gives her friend a cheeky smile as she heads out. "You both are hot, though, so you'd make an attractive couple."

Jade groans as Sophia slips out, burying her head into her pillow. There is no way in the world that Beck Oliver is interested in her. Sophia is obviously delusional.

Right?

* * *

**AN: This is because of Britt and she's going to take full responsibility for me writing this because this is absolutely crazy and I have no idea what I just wrote. But thank you guys for all of your lovely reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much! J Please review if you liked it or if you didn't or you want to suggest something.**


	3. Chapter 3

The Eligible

Eventual Jade/Beck

Chapter 3

By the time Jade gets down to breakfast, she's already grumpy. She'd call it a record but it's really not; sometimes she is grumpy simply because she wakes up in the morning, and today she is grumpy because she has to be assaulted with _practically_ a million annoying girls along with the ever mysterious and confusing Beck. Sounds like a _lovely _day.

So when someone says "Good morning, Jade" to her, she replies with, "Yeah, it's really not."

Sophia laughs. "Morning to you too, sunshine."

"Funny," Jade replies dryly. "Speaking of sunshine, if I have to come into contact with Little Miss Sunshine today I think I might -"

"Hey, Jade!" Tori chirps, sliding into the chair on Jade's other side. "Hey, Sophia! How excited are you guys?"

"For what?" Jade groans, sending Sophia a glance that clearly communicates her thoughts - _speak of the devil and she shall appear._ In bite-size, skinny young girl form, apparently.

"You guys haven't heard?" Tori gasps, apparently seeking for an outlet on which to enthuse about the day's activities. "We're going on a picnic, you know! At a lake. That means we can wade - or swim, only I'm sure there will be snakes - and fish, and eat outside! I think it'll be fun."

"Great," Jade groans, glaring down at her stack of pancakes. "That means bugs will get in my food and in my hair, I'll probably have a million mosquito bites _everywhere_, I might just get sunburnt, everyone will be all sticky, sweaty, and smelly, there might be freaking snakes or alligators, _and _I have to deal with all of you people. No thank you."

"Well you've got to go, Jade!" Tori exclaims with a frown. "It's a group date, and unless you're terribly sick _everyone's_ got to be there. Even Trina's going and I know how much she hates the outdoors."

But from what Jade can hear from Trina, the obnoxious girl is thinking no such thing - or at least if she's thinking it, she isn't voicing it. She speaks in a loud, clear voice, says, "Oh, everyone's heard about the _special activity_ today right? Well, this will be the perfect opportunity to show off my skills. I'm an excellent fisherwoman plus the sun brings out my natural beauty! Beck will be even _more _in love with me than before."

Trina, Jade thinks, wouldn't know subtlety if it smacked her across her 'perfectly moisturized' face.

"Jade'll be there," Sophia informs the girl, forcing a smile. "Don't you worry."

"Darn right Jade will," comes a much deeper voice from behind - since there were only a few boys on the set, she could recognize the voice within seconds, and it sent a chill right down her spine. Beck Oliver, stalking her as readily as ever.

She rolls her eyes at him, though. "You should know better than to creep up on people, Mr. "Gentleman" Oliver."

"You just weren't paying attention." Beck chuckles. "Tori's right, though, everyone's got to go. And unfortunately, Ms. West, that _everyone _includes you."

"I'll be there, but I won't be happy about it," Jade relents.

"Don't worry." Beck grins, nudging her. "I'll make sure you have a good time." Before she can reply with something nasty along the lines of "_I would never have a good time with you_" he is gone, and it's probably better that way anyway, since all possible retorts have vanished on the tip of her tongue once she sees the sincere grin on his face.

Sophia nudges her. "He is so into you, girl. You'd have to be blind not to see it."

"Then I guess we're going to get me some super strength glasses, because he is _not _into me," Jade scoffs. "And... he's not my type, anyway."

"Like you have a type," Sophia retorts.

"Jade's right," Tori interrupts, inserting herself into their conversation as annoyingly as ever. "The whole point of this show is that we all have a chance, you know? And if Beck's only into one person, say Jade, then he's ruined the rest of the game of getting to know everyone else cause he'll only be concentrated on her, see?" She grins, obviously pleased with her intellect.

"See, Sophia," Jade retorts, pretending to agree with Tori, although she, of course, knows the truth. Beck i_s _concentrating on one girl; he'd told her as much. She just isn't convinced it is her, especially after he'd so readily confessed it to her.

Sophia rolls her eyes in response, but clearly knows that she is outnumbered and is saved by the bell as Beck began his morning speech or whatever. Jade tends to tune out; it is usually basically a greeting and a brief summary of the day, which has already been spoiled for her by the Vega sisters/ partners in crime.

But her eyes stay fixated on him anyway for some odd reason - on the way his eyes twinkle when he jokes, on the way he runs his hand through his hair when he's nervous, on the way he seems to look right at her (so it is like they are staring each other down in an odd sort of way). It is like the way he'd spoke of the girl before, that he couldn't figure her out - it is like she can't figure him out, despite her original stereotyping of him. He is, well, suffice it to say different than she'd thought he was. And she is beginning to appreciate that.

But she isn't _interested _in him, you see. Not at all.

* * *

Jade is, of course, correct in her assumption that the picnic would not be an enjoyable outing. It certainly isn't - the sun is blazing, there are numerous bugs around, and the other girls are blabbing on about irrelevant things. Take, for example, Brittany, who is going on about how even though it was afternoon in America, in Australia it is _probably _the next day already. Abbey and Laura, beside her, look entirely fascinated, but Jade wants to jump into the lake. And Trina, of course, is putting on a spectacle of 'safety precautions' - a mess of bug spray, sunscreen, and hair spray, which Jade thinks is probably a safety hazard moreso than a precaution but whatever. In an attempt to distance herself from the group (though she feels a bit bad for leaving Sophia), she sneaks out to the edge of the creek.

She dangles her feet just above the surface of the water, letting her toes brush the waves, and for a moment she is blissfully, peacefully alone - until, of course, her silence is interrupted by the sound of leaves crunching, indicating the arrival of another human. With a groan, she turns around to see Beck Oliver. (This just serves as further proof to her _stalker theory_ rather than as an indication that he's interested in her; she's pretty sure that guys don't stalk girls they like. Then again she's not a male.)

"What are you doing here?" Jade inquires with a raise of her eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be back there with the Idiot Brigade?"

"Nah, Trina's still on about her safety precautions, so she won't even notice I'm gone," Beck says with a chuckle. "She's a bit self-absorbed."

"A _bit_?" Jade inquires.

"A lot. But hey, she's entertaining." Beck shrugs, then sits next to her. "I told you I was gonna make sure you had a good time today, and although I know you prefer to be alone, I thought maybe you could use some company today. And even if you might hate me, I don't hate _you_."

"Good for you." She rolls her eyes. "Do you want a gold medal or something?"

"Hey, that'd be nice," Beck says, nudging her. "You're pretty smart, though - this is a nice, quiet place. Kind of an escape from the kids."

"You're just as annoying as them," she retorts with a frown.

"Except not, cause you're letting me stay here, aren't you?" His eyes twinkle. "See, I'm starting to figure you out."

"Are not," she scoffs, but she lets him stay there anyway, because as it turns out, sitting and talking with Beck is actually more enjoyable than being alone, something she mightn't have thought possible. He's witty and funny, yet still a bit conceited; she doesn't know what to make of him, doesn't know what to make of _them. _Thankfully she doesn't have to think on it for too long, since their conversation is interrupted by a mangled scream that is recognizably Trina's.

Beck lets out a long-suffering sigh. "Guess I better go find out what's going on. I feel it'll be my fault if I allow Trina to be mauled by alligators."

"I sure hope that's the case," Jade says brightly, "but knowing her she's probably chipped a nail or - gasp- found a split end."

Beck gives a hearty laugh, then extends a hand. "Come on, we can go secretly laugh at Trina's misfortune."

She hesitates a second before she takes it.

* * *

As it turns out, Trina's extensive list of 'safety precautions' hadn't helped her much, since she'd fallen down due to her 5-inch Fazzini heels and had "twisted her ankle". She sat on the ground pitifully, working up a sob story for the cameras that didn't make her look like an idiot for wearing freaking 5-inch heels _outside_, and Jade can't help but chuckle to herself. There are some things that money just can't buy.

All of them gather around the table, and Jade wrinkles up her nose at the presentation of hot dogs and chips, the epitome of American 'barbecue picnic' food. She grabs one of the egg salad sandwiches off the end of the table instead, and simply grins when Sophia calls her a 'snob'. "That looks way too greasy for me."

"Good old American grease," Beck teases from her other side, and she tries not to smile at that, since she is meant to be convincing everyone that she's totally not, no way, into Beck. He is crammed between her and Tori anyway; maybe Tori's the girl he's into. (That, though, makes her want to vomit. She can't imagine anyone being into Little Miss Sunshine, or so she tells herself.)

"Gold old American obesity," she retorts with a scowl that makes _him _laugh. Tori takes a bite of her hot dog, as if to spite her, since she is about as big around as a pencil, but Jade pays her no attention.

Brittany, who is seated across from Sophie, starts talking about how one time she went to this festival and ate a hot dog, but then she went into a bouncy house (bouncy castle, the ever-Canadian Beck objects), and then the bouncy house (castle?) deflated on her. Jade can't help but laugh at her misfortune, which makes Brittany pronounce that she's offended, but Beck grins at her.

Ally smiles at her and pats her back. "That sounds like a traumatic experience."

"Well, it's not as traumatic as those poor kids who get raped by moose in Canada," Jade inserts. Beck, she's sure, would defend himself, but he seems to be laughing too hard to comment. Which, in an odd sort of way, makes her pleased.

But not because she pleases _him_. Not at all.

* * *

The interviews, Jade thinks the next day as she sits in the room adjacent to the room they're currently using, are usually very amusing, from what she hears of them. They do a few a day, just to get the girls' perspective on things, and Beck, of course, has to do multiple ones a week, being the 'protagonist' of the show. (Jade's fairly sure that makes _her _the antagonist.)

Right now, Marie Jacobs is the interviewee, and she is one of the few _true blondes _on the show - conceited, too, and spoiled. Jade can hear their conversation through the wall, and it sounds something like this:

"Hello, Marie."

"Hi. Hey, look, can we get this over quick? *snap of gum* Sorry, but my personal manicurist is coming for a visit at four, and I really could use a new manicure. Look at these nails!"

"All right, then. We'll be filming in five... four... three... two..."

"Hey, I'm Marie, I'm a female, in case you couldn't tell, and I'm from California. Yeah, that's right, I'm a California Girl and I'm simply undeniable, which explains why Beck's so totally into me. Just look at this tanned skin, this perfect blonde hair - who could resist? That's why I -"

"Excuse me, Marie, but this is an interview, so if you could simply stick to answering my questions, that would be terrific."

"I'm sorry; I just get carried away sometimes when I start to talk. This one time, I was in a beauty pageant, which I won by the way, and I -"

"My first question: how did you feel about what transpired on the picnic?"

"Transpired?"

"What happened."

"Oh, well you could've just said so. Well, I felt that my outfit was totally perfect - pink Fazzini boots, so much more stylish than Trina's, and my hot pink Zara dress, but if you ask me, Trina got what was coming to her. Anyone who wears those ugly fire engine red boots to a picnic _deserves _a sprained ankle. I wouldn't wear those if they were the last shoes on earth!"

"Thank you for your time, Marie."

In essence, Jade knew, the entire interview affair would be edited down to simply Marie saying "If you ask me, Trina got what was coming to her", taken out of context and made to sound malicious to spice up the whole show with "girl on girl drama" - the primary focus of the show. Oh yes, the show might be about bringing romance into the life of two previously devoid people, but they usually focused on the drama that accompanied a bunch of catty girls and one single guy. Which means Jade had to state her opinion clearly without bringing in unnecessary drama.

When they brought her in, she gave a sigh. The producer raised an eyebrow at her. "Hi there. Jade West?"

"Yo."

"So we will start filming in five... four... three... two..."

"One."

"Jade, how do you feel about what transpired, happened, at the picnic?"

"I felt it was stupid."

"Ah. Do you feel bitterness toward Trina? Jealousy, perhaps?"

"No. It was just dumb of her to wear those heels. Kinda funny too."

Sensing that he wasn't going to get her to speak negatively of Trina, he continued. "And what do you think of Beck?"

"What do I think of him? He's all right. Not the worst guy you could get on these shows, I suppose."

"Do you find him to be irritating, or, quote on quote, not your type?"

"If you're trying to get me to start some sort of petty drama, it's not happening. He's fine; I'll say nothing bad of him. I'm not the bad guy here and I'm _not _gonna let you make me look bad on television. This whole show is just pointless. If _anything _my enemy is you idiots."

"Okay then. Thank you for your time, Miss West."

She knows she'll be seeing nothing of _that _interview on television.

* * *

The week goes by before she can blink, laughing about the other girls with Sophia, rolling her eyes at Trina's drama, wondering what the heck goes through Brittany's mind, avoiding Tori, laughing at Trish's strange tendencies, concealing her annoyance at the rest, and before she knows it it's time for her 'private date' with Beck. She's at the end due to the fact that they've decided to go by last names; 18 girls makes for a lot of dates, and the majority of them are stupid, short walks in the park, but it just figures she'd get stuck with a nighttime 'rendezvous'.

It would just be her luck.

Sophia fusses over her, convinced that she's got to look simply 'ravishing' for Beck, and Trish states bluntly that if she showed up dressed like a walrus Beck would still find her ravishing. Jade rolls her eyes, and Tori states again (in a delusional fashion) that he likes every girl the same, isn't allowed to like one the most, but her face shows what her mouth won't say.

By the time she gets in the car beside Beck, she looks like a freaking doll and she's about ready to rip her hair out. "Don't say anything," she grits out once he looks over at her.

"I was just going to say you looked breathtaking," Beck informs her, "but all right."

"I'll bet you say that to every girl, don't you?" Jade inquires slyly. "You're one smooth dude, Oliver."

He gives her a strange glance - she can't have been far off. Then, clearly deciding to let it go (rather smart of him), he continues, "I supposed we'd go for a stroll along the river. The sky's really gorgeous there at night." Jade swears to herself that if he decides to pull out the cliche "the sky's beautiful tonight just like you" she'll just throw up on the spot. Not that he would do that, anyway. Because he's not into _her. _

"Whatever, dude," Jade says complacently (for once), not feeling up to fighting about the place, because it's meant to be his decision for some odd reason. "But hey - if you pull anything I will not hesitate to push you into the river."

He concedes with a nod. "Gotcha. And I promise I will be a complete gentleman."

She rolls her eyes, but once they get there she allows him to open the door for her, and then she takes his arm when he offers it. She's not used to being treated like this, like she's important, sort of like a princess - albeit a princess with dark clothing and darkly lined eyes. She sighs as they start walking. "Look, Oliver, I have a proposition for you."

He winces. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that. Any type of proposition from you... well, suffice it to say it won't be evenly weighted."

"Please, Oliver, I'm weighting it on _your _side." Jade hesitates, but then: "I don't know why you've kept me around so long. I don't know why you've been stalking me or talking to me but I suppose it's out of some sort of twisted sympathy for me. But let me put this bluntly: I don't need your sympathy. I'm just fine on my own, always have been. So just send me home this week and I won't hold it against you. I won't make you feel bad, won't go on TV interviews and bash you, won't call you a player - whatever. Nothing bad for you, got it?" She doesn't finish it: _I think if you keep me around I might actually start to think you like me, think you have feelings for me, and then I might start liking you in return, and when I find out that it was never true, that it was all just pity, it might just kill me inside._

He laughs, though. He actually laughs. And it makes her wonder what she did, what about that slightly heartfelt speech would make him _laugh_. She was trying to help him out - is that a joke? And then his voice comes out, and it's low and scathing. "You think, Jade, that I don't care about you? That I've kept you around because I was scared? That I talked to you because I pitied you? No, Jade, that's not it. I talked to you because you fascinate me, because you're a rock in a sea of irritation - something that keeps you afloat. Because I like you. And at this point I'm not allowed to say anything more, but suffice it to say that, unless something seriously changes, you won't be going home this week, nor anytime soon, because I want you around. I want you on this show, Jade."

"Shut up," she murmurs, keeping her eyes low. "If you keep talking like that I might actually start to like you."

He laughs again, this time in a softer, sweeter way. "I'm actually totally okay with that. So, what do you say we forget this conversation and start anew?"

"Hi, I'm Jade," she retorts.

"Not what I meant," he says, but he grins anyway. She likes that he gets her humor, that he doesn't think she's absolutely freaking insane or sadistic or masochistic or a freak - he finds it funny too. "Anyway, did you hear about what happened to Trina today? She dropped one of her rings down the sink, and of course it fell down the drain, so she tried to reach down and get it and her hand got stuck."

"Did not," Jade says, a grin spreading over her face. When Beck nods, she laughs. "Sometimes I think that girl can't get any more materialistic... but then again, she definitely can."

Beck gives a slight shrug. "She always proves you wrong, huh? Anyway, I'm not much of a materialist myself."

"What are you then, a hipster?" she questions, elbowing him in the gut lightly. "Or should I say a hippie, I suppose. Peace and love... that's all that's really important in life, man."

"And drugs, and rock n' roll," he amends, and they both laugh. "But I mean, I guess. I just think that relationships with people, that love is what really matters, at least moreso than material things. I would rather have people love me than have all the riches in the world, you know?"

"Then I guess I'll take all that money from ya," Jade says, and he shakes his head at her. "No, but I can understand that. I mean, I'm not much of a money person myself honestly. My dad's rich; he's got all the money I could ever want, but that's not my thing. I'm not really here for... for the money, I guess. Only don't tell anyone, because that's my tough girl cover up," she laughs, "but I'm here _for me. _To make a name for myself, to change my life, to not have to live in my dad's shadow with my idiot best friend for company - I like her really, she's my best friend, but you know."

"I do." He grins. "I don't care what anyone says about you; you're a sweet girl."

"Hey." Jade feigns offense. "I am _not _sweet. Freaking awesome, sure, bad, yeah, insane, probably, but sweet does not describe me in any way, shape, or form, and you know it too."

"You left out one thing," Beck says teasingly, "gorgeous. You're definitely gorgeous too."

"Shut up," Jade says, scowling at him again and feeling her cheeks warm the slightest bit. This isn't good; this isn't good at all. She shouldn't find him amusing, she shouldn't react to his compliments, shouldn't like him at all, actually, but there's something about him that's oddly endearing, and she finds that she can't _hate _him.

"Are you scared you're actually gonna have to _tolerate _me now?" Beck asks with a mocking gasp. "Well, guess what, Jade. You're stuck with me, at least for now."

And hey, she thinks as he loops his arm around hers again, and they settle back into a warm, pleasant conversation, that might not be so bad.

* * *

"Did you two make out?" is the first thing out of Sophia's mouth as soon as Jade sits down at the breakfast table.

Jade nearly chokes on her orange juice. "_No. _Sophia, I'm not even sure how you would jump to that conclusion, but no, no making out. And no - our lips never touched. It's only the third week; I'd look like a freaking player if I went after him like that. Not that I'd want to, anyway. Like I said, not my type."

"Jade," Sophia complains. "You've got to at least be nice to him or else he'll send you home, and then I'll be here all alone with all of _those _people."

"Calm down, freak," Jade replies nonchalantly. "Suffice it to say that I won't be going home this week."

"You seem so sure of yourself," Sophia notes. "And... happy." A smile makes its way across her face. "You like him, don't you." There's no question in her voice, no uncertainty in her tone - she acts as if she knows for sure, and yet she does not.

"No!" Jade tells her, biting her lip. "No, I don't. I'm just... he's not too bad is all."

"Who's not too bad?" Trina interrupts, saving Jade from what could've been an awkward conversation (and for once in a lifetime, probably, Jade is grateful for _one of _the nosy Vega sisters). "Beck? Oh, but our date was so romantic. I told him all about how I could speak French, the language of love, and kickbox, though one of my punches went a little awry and kind of... hit his arm... but he forgave me anyway. I'm so talented, don't you think?"

Jade laughs, which makes Trina glare at her and Tori elbow her (Jade's not sure where _she _came from, but whatever).

"I hope Beck doesn't send me home," Tori chirps, breaking the awkward silence left from Trina's failed compliment searching. "I mean, I don't think he would. I think we're really becoming rather good friends. But you never know."

Jade has to admit that, as a romantic partner for a guy, Tori wouldn't be the worst, certainly more tolerable than Trina or Trish or any of the other freaks. But then again, that's why Jade dislikes her so much - and also, of course, due to her relentless sunny disposition, and annoying patterns of speech, but you know. She raises an eyebrow at Tori, but Sophia, thankfully, breaks in. "I'd say I want to go home, but hey, leaving Jade alone would be terrifying for all of you. She might just rip you all to shreds."

"I've been sharpening my nails," Jade informs them in an eerie tone, making Tori shudder.

"If anyone goes home, it'll be one of you losers," Trina exclaims loudly, "and not me. He actually seems to like Jade, weirdly enough - she's so creepy, I couldn't do it, but I guess _Beck _sees something in her. Not Tori, cause she's actually decent. Uh, probably not Sophia, she's normal enough, but a little bit bitter, mean, and snarky. It's annoying," Sophia scowls at her, "just telling the truth. Brittany's pretty, though a bit ditzy... Maybe Ally or Trish?"

Ally and Trish, who are best friends, exchange insulted looks before turning back to glare at Trina, especially Ally, since she'd been one of the few to stand up for Trina. Trina quickly realizes her mistake. "No, not Ally. I'd say maybe -"

But Trina never gets to say who she thinks is going home, because the ceremony begins and all speculation ceases. Jade kind of hopes that Trina will be sent home, but she knows that Beck has to keep her around; Trina is the primary source of drama and entertainment on this silly little show, and it is her that gives them viewers - though to Jade's surprise, quite a few have taken a liking to her blunt method of speech and disdain for the show along with the spectacles of everyone on it (without the pettiness of catfights).

Beck begins to call out his list, and to Jade's surprise, the first name he calls out is "Jade West". She is the first. She can't help but smile the slightest bit as she thinks of it, but then she remembers who she is and where she is and the smile fades.

The two people that end up going home are Marie, thankfully (Jade never really liked her anyway), and an annoying gum-chewer named Chelsea with bright red lipstick. Jade didn't know them that well and therefore isn't upset, but some of their equally annoying friends are weeping, and of course they are weeping, so it's just a mess of tears and Jade rolls her eyes. It's not the end of the world.

Besides, it's probably primarily for the drama of it, for the cameras swarming around them. She turns to Sophia and rolls her eyes, and Josephine across the table indicates her disgust with the scene. Jade is glad that, for once, she's not alone in this.

But then Beck grins over at her, and his eyes are saying that he's glad he picked her, glad she's staying: doesn't pity her, isn't doing this because he has to, but because he wants to, and conflict sears through her veins. She doesn't know how to feel about this. She's pretty sure it's not supposed to be her that gets the attention on shows like _this._

She's also pretty sure she's not supposed to smile back.

* * *

**A/N: There, I updated, are you guys happy or. You better love me & review please.**

**Lol. This is so bad rn. But I promised Marlyn and Britt I'd update this weekend so here you guys go. I hope you loaf it.**

**(Btw I know nothing about the Bachelor so I'm turning this into my own kind of thing. I'll be mixing it up next time don't worry.)**


	4. Chapter 4

The Eligible

Eventual Jade/Beck

Chapter 4

"_So, Miss Vaughn, how has the show been for you?" the interviewer asks, staring down the rich, brunette socialite, who merely shrugs in response._

"_Well," Alyssa drawls, "Beck's a hottie. Anyone with eyes knows that. And the show's all right. It's just some of the people on it get on my nerves. I honestly don't get how they haven't been sent home yet. As if Beck could count them as actual competition."_

"_Whoever could you be talking about, Miss Vaughn?" the interviewer prods, though of course it ought to be obvious – only one person has been isolated as not being at all like the others._

_Alyssa smirks, pleased with the fact that she gets to talk smack about the girl on live television. "I don't mean to name any names, but Jade. She's so scary and mean and dark. I don't think Beck could see anything in her – he's not at all like her! None of us are! She's a dark, Gothic freak who scares everyone and is constantly mean to us all! I sure hope she goes home soon, or else I think I'll go insane. Ugh. It sucks that I'm forced to associate myself with such low people. But hopefully not for much longer."_

"_That certainly sounds like a tough situation," agrees the reporter with a slight frown. "But hopefully things will work out. This has been Nancy Steadman on the behind-the-scenes drama of the hit reality show _The Eligible_._ _Tune in next time as we interview teen pop sensation Victoria Justice!"_

.

By the time Jade gets to breakfast the next morning, she's already the center of attention. She smiles – honestly, she doesn't care that the others don't like her; that's to be expected with a personality like hers. Sophia grins at her. "Hey, Gothic freak. Ready for today?"

"Lemme guess," Jade says with a groan. "We're going to some janked up place that no male in his right mind would consider except Mr. Manly Man Beck Oliver. Is it a ballet this week?"

Before Sophia can answer, Tori, in her usual fashion, plops down at her table. "Oh, hey, Jade. I just wanted to say that Alyssa's wrong and that you're not hated, at least not by everyone." She shows her big, toothy smile that portrays her perfect cheekbones, and Jade rolls her eyes.

"Whatever, Vega." Jade replies, wondering why the girl feels the need to come over and inform her of something that probably isn't even true, but she shakes her head anyway and tries not to think of it. "Look, since you're Miss In-The-Know-Beck-Loves-Me-The-Most," Sophia shakes her head, but Jade ignores her, "you wouldn't happen to know where we're going today, would you?"

"Of course," Tori chirps. "It's going to be so much fun! We're heading out to the beach, which will be nice as it's oddly warm today, so pack your sunscreen!"

"Wait," Jade replies, her face curved down into a frown as she processed the new information. "We're going to… the beach?" Her eyes went big as her brain continued to bring up old memories, bad memories, of the beach, and she took a step backward. "No, I can't go to the beach. I, uh, I don't feel good."

"You seem fine," Sophia murmurs, glancing over at Jade with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, you haven't got a fever," Tori chirps as she presses her hand to Jade's forehead, making Jade glare intensely at her. "I think you're just fine to go to the beach with us! Don't you worry. Beck will be there, so I'm sure you'll have a great time! Oh, and Sophia and I too, of course." She winks. "You and Beck seem to be good friends, I mean. He likes all of us the same romantically!"

"Of course, Vega," Jade says with a roll of her eyes, but her heart is pumping blood faster than an airplane. She can't go to the beach – she just can't. Those stupid dolphins live there, and they will harass her just like they did last time. But then again… she doesn't want anyone to find out, and if she doesn't go near the water, then no one will have to know about her fear. She could just lie and say that she's on her period or something. That could work.

Tori's eyes grow to the size of saucers. "Jade! Are you scared of the beach?"

"What?" Jade hisses, glaring at the girl with big brown doe eyes. "I'm not scared of anything, you idiot, and especially not some dumb beach. I couldn't care less about the beach. It's just, you know, my stomach is killing me. Girl problems and all that."

"Looks like I interrupted at the wrong time," comes a deep voice from behind, and she turns to find the creator of this horror behind her, smirk stretched across his perfectly sculpted face. "But I've got some Ibuprofen back in my room if you want, Jade. I'd really love if you joined us today."

"No, it's fine." Jade inhales deeply. "I'll come to the dumb beach. I just won't get in the ocean."

"Yeah, maybe you can tan," Beck teases her, poking her on the side, and she rolls her eyes at him. He laughs. "Aw c'mon Jade, it's all in good fun. Anyway, see you later today." There's something suggestive in the way half of his mouth curves up, and she can't help but look down. "See you guys. I've got some important business to attend to – aka, you know, lifting some weights so I don't look bad in a swimsuit today."

Tori blushes, but Sophia gives a loud chuckle as he walks away. "Imagine that guy without a shirt. Can you spell HOT?"

"Anyone with half a brain can," retorts Jade, but at that moment Brittany walks up and asks, "Do you mean hot as in temperature or as in good-looking? Aren't there different ways of spelling it?"

"Case in point," Jade tells them, as the curly-headed girl just makes a confused face and walks over to her friend across the room.

"Anyway, Jade," Sophia says with a cunning smile, "just another reason for you to join us at the beach. Your boy toy shirtless. Some people have to pay for that."

"I told you I'd be there already," Jade informs her sharply with a scowl, "and anyway he's not my boy toy, so you can shut up about that. He's actually sort of annoying, you know. He gets on my nerves on purpose half the time and that makes me want to strangle him."

"But you don't," counters Sophia, "and with you, that means something."

Though she shook her head adamantly, she did have to wonder if, for once, Sophia was right.

.

It turns out that Tori was right; the beach is searing hot, and as Jade arrives, peering out from under her dark sunglasses, it is difficult not to give into temptation and peel off her dark cover-up and run straight into the water. But she remembers the dolphin incident, as she prefers to refer to it, and she refrains. Instead she sets up her umbrella halfway down the beach, a good distance from where Alyssa and her cronies are sunbathing, and she plops down in her chair, positioning herself under the shade.

Sophia, who shows up looking nice in a turquoise two-piece, raises an eyebrow. "Whatever happened to tanning?"

"Somehow I don't think my quote on quote boy toy would appreciate me looking like a boiled tomato," Jade retorts with a frown at Sophia. "I don't tan; I burn, unlike people like you. So I'll just sit under the umbrella and watch all of you get raped by dolphins."

Sophia bursts out laughing. "Is _that _what you're scared of?"

"No!" Jade exclaims, biting her lip. "I've told you before – I'm not scared. I just freaking hate the ocean with all of its murky water and ugly creatures. Give me a Jacuzzi any day."

"Have fun up here then, West," Sophia says with a mocking grin as she whips her head around and runs off to join Josephine, Brittany, Tori, and Tori's annoying sister (who Jade will under no circumstances name). She sighs and leans back, reaching into her bag to find the movie novelization of _The Scissoring_. Movie novelizations are rarely ever good, but seeing as _The Scissoring _is quite possibly her favorite movie in the world, she feels fairly obligated to purchase and read the movie novelization as well.

But, of course, a certain person has to ruin her rather twisted idea of fun. She can feel breath on her neck and spins around quickly, scowl painted on her face. "What exactly do you think you're doing, Oliver?"

"Watching you," he says, plain and simple, that stupid smug grin on his face, and she wants to tell him what exactly she thinks of that – it is stalker material, and if he doesn't cut it out she'll be sure to get a restraining order put on him, but none of those words make it out of her mouth. When she doesn't respond, he continues. "When you agreed to come to the beach with us, I kind of hoped you'd, you know, actually interact with the beach, instead of sitting in your chair under an umbrella doing exactly what you'd be doing in your hotel room and reading the most disturbing book in existence."

"Hey," Jade tells him with a scowl, "it's hardly the _most _disturbing book in existence. I've read worse."

"Of course you have," Beck replies, but he doesn't seem annoyed; instead it is as if he is bemused, fascinated, by her, and that scares her more than any dumb novel ever could. "So why don't you go swimming with us? Sophia's out there, and so is Tori, though she tells me that you're taken aback by her positivity. Can't imagine why."

"I told you that I'm not going to swim," Jade says with a scowl at him. "It's hardly my fault that Sophia decided to ditch me and swim. Plus the two Vegas being out there is more of a motivation for me to stay right where I am, you know? And _also _I can't get in the water… girl problems. So there." It was such an elementary thing to say, but when his big puppy dog eyes were fixed on her there were no better words.

"Well, you can't touch the water, yes," Beck answers, his face fixed into a thoughtful expression, "but that doesn't mean you can't get in." He grins, a wicked sort of grin that she knows already can mean nothing good for her. "What if I carry you?"

She glares wickedly back at him, her eyes spraying venom that would scare off anyone in his or her right mind, but unfortunately Beck is the craziest person she's met so far, because he isn't scared off by her glare. Instead he reaches out, despite her constant protesting, and lifts her up bridal style in his muscular, tanned arms. She lets out a yelp and pounds her fists against his arms, but unfortunately all of that muscle must be a protective layer or something because he doesn't even wince. Also, Jade notices as he carries her, Sophia is right – he is hot with his shirt off.

He carries her out to about waist-deep water and then grins down at her. "See, this isn't that bad."

"Just wait until you get raped by a dolphin," Jade grumbles, before looking down. "I can't even see your feet. That's why I don't like the ocean. What you can't see can still hurt you."

"So you're scared of the murky water?" Beck asks with a laugh. "See, I knew even you weren't impenetrable – though honestly I wasn't expecting your Kryptonite to be something like this. You always manage to surprise me."

"What's your 'Kryptonite', then?" Jade inquires, partly for blackmail, but mostly out of curiosity. It would take a lot, she thinks, to rile Beck up; she's never seen him scared so far, or even angry aside from that odd bout of something that resembled jealousy, and she wonders what could ruffle a guy like Beck's feathers.

He grins furtively. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

She shakes her head, which makes him wobble a bit and she, though unconsciously, grabs at his arm and chest for stability. "Don't let me fall," she says, but it comes out in something close to a whisper and she sounds so vulnerable that she hates herself for a moment.

He doesn't judge her, though, or laugh, or do anything that would make her feel even worse for exposing her vulnerable side to him, instead he just says a simple word that makes her heart skip a beat. "Never," he says, and she hates herself for trusting him but in that moment she does, and he starts to lean closer and closer and she knows what is happening, what she didn't want to happen, and she knows that he probably does this with every other girl in the world too but in that moment she trusts him and she doesn't care and she starts to lean in too. Before their lips touch, though, they are inevitably interrupted.

"Guys," Brittany says, completely oblivious to what had just occurred before her, "do you know if the water in toilets actually turns differently in different hemispheres? Because Trina swears it's true and I dunno if I should listen to her."

Jade, still clinging to Beck's body, and Beck meet eyes, then shake their heads. "Trina makes things up sometimes," Beck offers, "and that sounds like a pretty random fact to me."

"All right," Brittany says uncertainly, "and also Sophia is laughing because you got in the water, Jade, or maybe because Beck's carrying you. You guys are cute."

"We are not cute," Jade snaps, and then, glancing at Beck, "put me down, please, I'm going to try to walk on my own in this nasty water. And if I get bit, stung, or otherwise physically harmed by any sort of marine creature I'm holding you personally responsible."

"Believe me," Beck says, holding up his hands, "I'll hold myself personally responsible."

She wonders what exactly he means by that, but there is no time now to ponder on it, because the two of them are following Brittany over to where the others have grouped – Sophia, who raises an eyebrow at her, Tori, who is smiling brightly and begins blabbing their ears off as soon as they walk over, and Trina, who is trying to pose in a sexy manner in order to impress Beck. Brittany frowns at Trina. "They said you made it up!"

"Uh-huh," Trina says defensively, shoving her PearPhone (which, yes, she does have out in the water) in Brittany's face. "I took this pic when we were in Australia, see?"

"Why is it dark?" Brittany inquires before recognition dawns on her face. "Oh, it's night!"

Trina rolls her eyes before turning her attention back to Beck. "So Beck, I picked out this swimsuit just for you. I was told you liked the color pink on girls, so I chose that over blue."

"Actually," Beck tells her with a shrug, "I prefer blue." Then he glances over and meets Jade's crystal blue eyes and once again she is stupidly not able to breathe.

.

When Sophia shows up at her room the night before Jade's single date, Jade is confused, to say the least, and all the more when Tori Vega shows up too, grin plastered on her face. Sophia sighs. "Sorry, I couldn't deter her."

Jade sputters for a moment before she manages to get out, "Why are you _here_?"

"Well," Sophia replies coyly, "I figured we'd have a movie night tonight – and _no _we're not freaking watching _The Scissoring, _all right – and then tomorrow we'd get you all fixed up for your date. They're doing a few photos too, so it'd be best if you fixed up a bit, and who's better for that job than me?"

"And me?" Tori pipes up uncertainly.

"Sophia," Jade tells her evenly, "you can barely do your own makeup." And it's true – sometimes Sophia will come to breakfast with her lipstick smudged and eyeliner streaked under her eyes and mascara clumped all over her lashes.

Sophia sighs dramatically. "Fine, Jade, I'll put Tori on makeup! But I can do hair all right," she declares proudly, pointing to the perfect little bun that sits atop her head.

"And I brought movies too," Tori announces, placing a stack of DVDs on the bed. "The Notebook, The Proposal, Titanic… and a bunch more girly movies!"

"A bunch of chick flicks," Jade groans, but as Tori puts in a DVD and Sophia heads off to pop some popcorn, she realizes that she's stuck with the two for the whole night, so she leans back and decides to make the best of it. Absentmindedly, she wonders what Beck's doing – probably on a date with Trina, she thinks, and then she laughs to herself as she imagines him trying to deal with the insane girl. But then she stops herself – thinking of him will lead to her actually _liking _him which will lead to her certain demise. Or something like that.

.

By the time the morning comes, Jade is worn out from a combination of laughing at horrible chick flicks and putting up with Tori Vega, but immediately she is attacked with a curler, some sort of hair mousse, and a mascara wand. The two girls go to work on her, although she herself is not allowed to see for some odd reason. Sophia curls her hair, Tori dabs her cheeks with blush, and they continue in this same sort of pattern for what seems like ages.

"Trust me," Sophia says with a saucy grin, "Beck will appreciate this. Bet you ten bucks he won't keep his eyes off of you all night."

"Sophia!" Tori protests without even looking up from her eyebrow penciling.

"Yeah, I know, Beck's not supposed to be so interested in Jade early on, but he is anyway, so get over it," Sophia murmurs, twisting another curl around the curler and smirking.

"I told you two I'm not even interested in him," Jade protests with a frown, "so basically all of this hard work is for nothing."

"Tell it to the judge, West," Tori says jokingly. "Now stop moving, otherwise you're going to look like the Bride of Frankenstein on your big date tonight."

Surprisingly enough, by the time the two crazy girls get done with her, Jade actually does look surprisingly nice. Her hair falls in perfect ringlets, her eyes are wide and seem to pop, her lips are a soft shade of red, and her eyelashes look long and sultry. She turns to the two girls and jokingly asks, "Now what am I supposed to wear that will match my dashing upper body?"

Apparently they have that figured out, because ten minutes later they've got her standing in front of the mirror in a gorgeous blue dress. "Because Beck likes blue," Tori jokes and Jade wonders when the neurotic girl developed a sense of humour.

"Beck's going to have a heart attack," Sophia proclaims, and Jade rolls her eyes. She has to wonder if there's something that she's not seeing.

.

As she rides to the 'destination' she thinks that it's going to be a bit awkward at first since, you know, they'd been about to _kiss _and obviously they aren't dating, can't date in the middle of a reality TV show of this nature, and she's not even sure if she's _into _him that way even. That, she thinks, can definitely leave some pent-up awkwardness. And once again she's right, because as soon as she steps out of the car, all dolled up with her dress, makeup, and heels, he immediately blurts out, "You look gorgeous."

Her cheeks warm a little bit. "Uh, thanks. You look nice too…" He does, in a nice shirt and a pair of dress pants with his hair down and long and _attractive_.

They stand quietly for a moment before Jade pipes up again. "Um, why are we at some Chinese place?"

"I have a reason," Beck jumps in quickly. "Well, first of all I like Chinese food – you should try their dumplings, they're amazing. Second of all, well, the Chinese have always placed high value on a certain stone. I'll give you one guess as to what it is."

"Jade," Jade says immediately; she knows exactly what it is, and suddenly her cheeks heat up again, because he'd picked Chinese especially for her and what exactly does that mean? This isn't something she can just blow off with sarcasm; this is something that makes her want to hide her face and never come up again rather like an ostrich because she's never been faced with it before.

"Exactly." Beck grins at her. "I knew you were smart. Anyway come on in. I've reserved a room for us."

"Have you now?" Jade inquires – and it turns out he has, an actual room decorated with jade statues and an elaborate chandelier that Jade imagines might be worth a million dollars and she has to wonder if he does this for all the other girls too because _wow_.

"I've already ordered, hope you don't mind," he informs her as he glances around. "But I ordered a lot of different things, just in case. I do think you'll like the food here, though. It's brilliant."

"You come here a lot?" Jade inquires.

"Yeah." Beck gives a small shrug. "Mostly by myself, so I'm sure they all thought I was a total loser, and now I'm on TV so I guess I'm popular now." He gives a laugh. "This show was kind of a step down for me, but I needed to get myself out there as an actor – and not just because of my parents."

"Your parents are rich?" she inquires as she bites into a juicy dumpling the waitress has just put down.

"Yep, and fairly well-known in LA. They signed me up for this because they wanted me to 'find someone' and I agreed because I needed to get myself out there." He rolls his eyes. "I know, I'm a loser for still depending on my parents, but you know. What about you? Why are you here?" His words are not at all condescending, though, simply curious.

"My best friend Cat signed me up for this," Jade says with a shrug. "I agreed because I need the money and I thought it'd be fun to come and create a huge scandal because of you know, my disagreeable personality." _I didn't think the guy would be someone like you, _she adds mentally.

"I think your personality is just fine," he tells her with a chuckle. "Where are you from, though?"

"I'm from in LA, but I'm living in New York with Cat right now," she explains. "We're both looking for work at the moment, actually, as actresses – coincidentally. But I sing and write, too."

"Triple threat, huh?" Beck teases.

"Not really," Jade replies in her usual fashion, "since I haven't had any good jobs recently. But maybe my newfound fame as the mean girl on this show will land me some more auditions as the Wicked Witch of the West… or maybe Cruella de Vil or Miss Hannigan."

"I guess you heard Alyssa's interview," Beck says with a mock sigh. "She's bitter, you know. I'm not a big Alyssa fan, and I guess she got jealous that I… talked to you a lot. She's a mean girl, but I've got to keep her around a while longer to give some semblance of drama. It's all about the viewers, you know."

"When it should be about your happiness," Jade reminds him. "What's the point of this show if you spend the whole of it miserable because you keep around people you're not fond of?"

"Money." Beck grins. "Inevitably not in _my _pocket, but the producers'. Welcome to the world of reality TV, Miss West. It's more about the _TV _and less about the reality. But hey, sometimes shows like this screw up and the _eligible _person actually does find the person that they're meant to be with." He looks at her as he says it and she can't help but look down.

By the end of the date, though, she's totally stuffed, and she allows him to lead her out. She gives him a half-smile. "I actually had an all right time tonight, Oliver. Thanks."

He smiles and kisses her lightly on the cheek. "I had a good time tonight too, Jade."

.

She doesn't go home that week, either. She gets to walk to the front again and take a rose and try not to meet Beck's eyes because she's still conflicted, still doesn't know what to do, still doesn't even know what's going on with the two of them, still doesn't even know if he's into her or if she and everyone else are just imagining all of it. It is definitely a unique situation, much to Jade's dismay; there are not many people who can give her advice about it.

Trina speculates again that Ally will get sent home, or maybe Brittany (which, of course, upsets the brunette, but Trina just shrugs), but both of them quickly join Jade at the front, and then Trina and Alyssa do too (unfortunately). Sophia follows, and then Tori, and so do Josephine and loads of others, until at last some Abbie girl and an Ellie are the last girls standing and are therefore sent home. Jade doesn't know either of them and so she feels no pity as she watches them walk off. Both of them shed a few tears, hug a few random people, and make loud sighing noises as they leave – going out with a bang, Jade thinks, before she grins at Sophia.

"Looks like you're stuck with me for another week," Sophia tells her with a laugh. "And, of course, you're stuck with hottie over there who can't stop looking at you. You've got to tell me your secrets, Jade. I need a guy like him."

"You can have him," Jade tells her drily, deciding that the best course of action is to act aloof about the whole thing – like nothing is going on because, as far as she's concerned, nothing is. Beck, though, might tell a different story, but she doesn't know – and that's the thing, she doesn't know.

"No thanks." Sophia wrinkles up her nose. "You have him wrapped around your finger, girl, and I don't want your leftovers. Leftovers are never as good as the original, ya know?"

"That's irrelevant, because I do _not_ have him," Jade protests as she bites down on her lip, clutching the rose in something like anger mixed with confusion until the thorns prick her and small drops of blood flow out of her thumb. "Remember what your BFF Vega always says? He's all of ours. He's not partial to anyone. Blah blah blah."

"No offense to Tori, but that, my friend, is absolute bullcrap," Sophia proclaims as Beck spots them in the crowd of girls and makes his way over to the two of them, "and you know it, too."

.

**A/N: Wow I finished the chapter this is crazy. I was harassed to update this and it's bad so I'm sorry but I truly hope you enjoy it and it's not going too fast or being too repetitive or anything. Please leave a review if you liked it or even if you didn't! And thank you guys for all of the reviews so far. You're all insanely amazing. Means the world to me. And hey, this time if you're not on Anon and you've got a Q you wanna ask, go on and ask me. I'll try to reply. Or you can just tweet me at madisvictorious. Either one.**


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